Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Cognitive and Physical Performance: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?

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Background

Performance during the day, whether physical or cognitive, is dependent on both sleep and circadian influences. Good sleep quality and optimal sleep duration are associated with better physical and cognitive performances; while physical performance and cognition display time of day optima dependent on circadian entrainment and individual chronotype. Sleep itself is affected by its timing relative to endogenous circadian rhythms and their amplitude, and the timing of the human circadian pacemaker is highly sensitive to light, physical activity, meal timing, and exogenous melatonin.

With industrialization and constant access to light, people have in the relatively recent past been able to control their environments and change work and recreation patterns to extend beyond the natural light period of a day, often directly impacting sleep timing and quality. More recently, the permanent access to screens has also contributed to this erratic exposure to light throughout the circadian cycle. Furthermore, societal schedules for work, sporting events, and even classes may be at odds with individual circadian rhythms to the extent that sleep and performance are impaired. While the body of research investigating the relationship between sleep, circadian rhythms, and performance (physical and cognitive) continues to grow, intervention studies are key to guide the translation of this science into practice to ultimately improve human performance.

Scope: Given the interrelated nature of sleep and circadian rhythms, we seek manuscripts from scientists working in different backgrounds and disciplines that integrate the two areas as they relate to performance. Performance is a broad topic, encompassing physical and cognitive aspects, in workplace, sporting, and learning environments. There are lessons to be shared between these settings and types of performance which is why we invite research investigating diverse areas of performance.

Topics:
• Impacts of shift work on circadian alignment and consequences on work performance including health and safety at work
• Sleep and circadian rhythms as a means to optimize workplace performance
• Circadian and sleep interventions to improve athletic, work, and cognitive performance
• Sleep and time-of-day effects on athletic performance and recovery
• Effects of transmeridian travel and circadian misalignment in sports performance
• Sleep and cognition in esports performance
• Sleep and circadian rhythms in scholars, in particular adolescents, as they relate to academic performance
• Exploring school start times as a means to improve sleep and academic performance
• Genetic and environmental factors responsible for resilience or vulnerability to circadian and sleep challenges

Article types: We welcome specifically intervention studies and systematic reviews in this area, as well as original research. We envisage this collection being used in a practical and translational way to not only assist individuals in the way in which they manage performance, but also to guide employers, sports teams, and learning institutions and to ultimately inform policy.

Keywords: Sleep, Chronobiology, Neurocognitive, Athletic, Workplace

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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